Fernandez, Edith, 1972-

Dr. Edith Fernandez is a native Las Vegan, a Chicana American. In the 1950s, her parents emigrated from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico and joined family already residing in Las Vegas area since the 1920s. The Fernandez family of three children grew up in Charleston Heights as one of a very few Latinx families in the predominantly white community.

Her parents believed in hard work. Her father worked as a waiter at the Sands Hotel, and her mother was a bank teller. From a young age she heard their stories, among which were her father’s memory of serving Elvis Presley and of being a Culinary Union member and participating in the 1984 Union strike.

At an early point in her elementary school education, a teacher tried tracking Edith into the special education program. Maria Fernandez would have no part of this for her child and perhaps, this triggered for Edith the value placed on education within her family. With the mentorship of her sister and encouragement of her family, Edith went on to graduate with two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR); two master’s degrees, one from University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and Harvard; and later her PhD in Higher Education from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Fernandez’s career crosses over two decades, serving the Las Vegas community and increasing access to higher education for students of color in the Las Vegas Valley. She helped open the Cambridge Center, has served as a recruiter to increase diversity for UNR, supported the Latino Youth Leadership Conference, and been the District Director for US Representative Steven Horsford. She now serves as the Associate Vice President at Nevada State College where she specifically focuses on supporting diverse student populations.

She serves on two national boards: Council for the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institute Educators and Association of Hispanics in Higher Education.